11.08.05
He doesn’t even speak Italian
We had an interesting conversation with our grammar teacher about the last king of Italy, Umberto II. In 1946 Italians voted to end the monarchy and become a republic. The newly-drafted constitution demanded that every male member of Italian royalty be banned from ever stepping foot in Italy again. That rule has been in place ever since, though recently they have been allowed to return for short periods of time.
Umberto II had one son, Vittorio Emanuele, who lived most of his life in exile in Switzerland. Many Italians are confused as to why he would want to come back. He is more “Swiss” than “Italian.” His accent when speaking Italian is very pronounced. He has children who are Swiss citizens.
As we were discussing the subtleties of former Italian royalty, our teacher kept explaining the absurdity of Vittorio’s return to Italy: “He doesn’t even speak Italian!” It struck me that she placed such a heavy emphasis on the language a person speaks. The idea of a person who doesn’t speak Italian having some kind of cultural link to Italy was absurd to her.
All of which makes me want to work on my accent…
Josh Furnal said,
11.08.05 at 5:32 am
isnt italian your teacher’s second language?
Brian said,
11.08.05 at 6:05 am
Sort of … her parents are from Italy, so they spoke Italian in the home. In Argentina. A little bizzare.